Green Reaction to Queens Speech

24 June 2017

What we were presented with in Wednesday's Queen's Speech was evidence of a government that’s out of ideas and out of time. It further demonstrates that we have a Prime Minister who is incapable of recognising the public mood and perception of both her party and her policies.

The Tories say they want to ‘provide certainty for individuals’ over Brexit, but they can’t even convince the hard-right DUP to provide parliamentary support after almost two weeks of negotiations.

The criminal loss of life at Grenfell Tower and the latest attack at Finsbury Park have shown once again the importance of strong communities, the urgent need to invest in public services and the extent to which Britain values courage and compassion. Instead we have a morally and politically bankrupt Government with no majority and no mandate. This is shown by the welcome climb down over grammar school expansion and taking away of school meals from the youngest in society.

This hollowed out Government has produced a stunningly unambitious Queen’s speech at a time when Britain desperately needs a change of direction. Failing to propose any meaningful plans to tackle climate change is a near-criminal act of political vandalism, and refusing to give our hard pressed NHS workers the pay rise they deserve reveals a Government utterly out of touch. The proposed immigration clampdown sees an increasingly hardline Government doubling down on plans they know will wreck our economy.

Though climate-deniers in the DUP might be celebrating this Queen’s Speech, it simply isn’t a serious programme of Government. This speech should have included an Environmental Protection Act and a guarantee for EU Nationals that their rights would be protected, but these basic Brexit laws were nowhere to be seen.

While some proposals in the Queen’s speech deserve praise – in particular plans to help people suffering from mental health problems, – the overall picture is one of a Government which has run out of steam, and a Prime Minister who has lost authority.

Produced by Green Party Press Officer Jonathan Edmunds on behalf of Stroud District Green Party.